Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage, the newly-appointed Ambassador of Sri Lanka to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), has presented credentials to ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn on Wednesday (July 26).

Prof. Colombage and Dr. Kao have discussed ways and means to further enhance ASEAN-Sri Lanka relations to bring about more benefits to their people.

The ASEAN chief also commended the efforts taken by Sri Lanka to overcome the economic challenges.

The ambassador highlighted Sri Lanka’s Look East policy, current activities of Sri Lanka with the member states of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to join RCEP, and Sri Lanka’s interest in becoming Sectoral Dialogue Partner in ASEAN, especially in ASEAN Maritime Outlook and Blue Economy.

The ASEAN chief meanwhile appreciated the efforts taken by Sri Lanka to overcome the economic challenges and emphasized that Sri Lanka plays a critical role in ASEAN Regional Forum while engaging in a friendly relationship with all countries.

Further, the Secretary-General appraised Sri Lanka’s interest in becoming Sectoral Dialogue Partner in ASEAN.

Last month, the ASEAN chief, during a meeting with Sri Lankan presidential secretariat delegation, hinted at the possibility of Sri Lanka joining the world’s largest trade deal, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

The RCEP encompasses the 10 ASEAN member states, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. All these countries represent 32 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).